My favorite eye-makeup application

Today is a first time post on this blog - a "How-To" Makeup post. Yep that's right. Yesterday I applied my eye makeup in my favorite way possible. You can take this application technique and use it with any color combination you want and always get an amazing eye! So here we go!

The leading actors are:

1. Loreal Paris Pencil Perfect Self-Advancing Eyeliner - my particular color was "Espresso"

2. Covergirl Lash Blast Fusion Mascara - again my particular color was "Very Black"

3. Almay Intense I-Color Powder Shadow - my color was "Trio for Browns 001"

4. Clinique Soft-Pressed Eye Shadow - color was "Ivory Bisque/Brandied Plum"

Okay first off let me explain reasons why I chose some of these particular items. For starters I have dark brown eyes and so will always use a dark eyeliner to bring them out. Light colors just look odd on my eyes. Black eyeliner is over-pronounced and makes me look gangster or goth. And although soft black does work I love the softness of using a dark brown color to match my eyes - this way I just outline my eyes but don't draw attention away from them. Now on the other hand it is the opposite with my eyelashes. Girls always want attention on their long lashes and with a dark colored eye I must use a VERY BLACK mascara to make them pop and not blend in.

Onto the eye shadows I love smoky eyes or similar colored trios instead of going with opposites attract sort of thing. 3 different shades of the same color is my favorite and makes an eye look so classic and sophisticated. Being olive skinned with dark eyes a color that will always look good on me is Plum. (and no I'm not just saying that because I think so I have had probably three makeup artists or stylists tell me so and all articles read on the subject have agreed.) So it's just me but I either go with a neutral palette - browns and beige's to match my eye color or with a variation of plum. This is typically speaking. Other colors I love on my eye are burnt orange, olive green, and grey - again all with different shades of that base color. Anyways on with the application technique.

One of the first things I was taught by a make-up artist (and trying several other ways just to see if she was right) was when applying eyeliner to apply it under lashes - not on inner lip of eyelid as some do to bring drama to the eye, and to apply from outer corner to the invisible line of your inner eye circle. In other words the circle of your eye that has the color of your eye - stop your eyeliner before reaching the inner corner at the edge of that circle. It's about 3/4 of the way in. Repeat the same thing on top lid.

Next is mascara. Here is a handy tip when applying mascara - do your lower lashes first because when you open your eye wide to apply to lower lashes often your upper lashes hit the skin above your eye causing you to have to go back and wipe it off and also losing some of the application off your top lashes. By doing the lower lashes first you eliminate this problem.

Okay so to the good part - eyeshadow. You will apply the lightest shade to the top of your eyelid - this starts at your brow and goes down to the crease in your eyelid. Next take your middle shade color and apply just to lid. Last with a thin application brush apply darkest shade to just the crease in your eyelid. For an example with the colors I used:

"Shimmery Beige" from the Almay Trio was used on upper eyelid. the "Soft Plum" color also from Almay Trio was used on lid. Then in the crease of my eye was the Clinique "Brandied Plum". Here is a picture of the finished product:

Obviously showing someone something in person is always much easier but hopefully you got something from this. The key to an eye like this is blending. The easiest for me is to take the tip of my finger and gently smudge the dark color upward toward the lightest color. The lid to crease doesn't usually need blending as you want the distinction there. By doing a quick browse I found a great picture guideline (but I know nothing of the site or makeup - it was a quick search - I just know the picture guidelines are the same as I described. Click here for link.

Oh and one last thing, the Clinique color is SUPER old because I use small amounts of it so you may not be able to find that exact color anymore! But I'm sure you can find something close.